2018 IMPACT REPORT

Supporting, Empowering, and Advocating for the Adults Who

on Children’s Lives in Central Ohio

THE FIRST 2,000 DAYS….

Every child should have a strong start in life. But for too many children, opportunities are

limited long before they enter school by race, gender, and ethnicity – short-handed to zip

code for our most vulnerable little ones. There are just about 2,000 days from birth to school

entry, and every one of those days holds a promise for the future: a chance to grow, to learn,

and to develop socially and emotionally. With the right supports – empowered parents and

family, and access to affordable, quality child care and early learning – the first five years are

the opportunity of a lifetime. Without these supports however, parents are stressed and

under-resourced, and too many children aren’t prepared for success in school and beyond.

At Action for Children, everything we do – whether it involves coaching dads, providing

nutritious meals and snacks, or building the capacity of child care to meet stronger quality

standards – all of our work is about improving the odds for all children. Why? We know from

decades of research, that once children fall behind, odds are likely they will stay behind and

the cost of later interventions soars. We can’t do this without you. This is truly the work of the

community. Our partners, funders, and the very families and child care and early learning

professionals we serve, are essential to making the most of the opportunity of the first 2,000

days. Please enjoy reading more about our programs and impact, and we look forward to

continue working with you to set the foundation for all future learning, health, and success.

Note: This annual report includes information regarding our services and financial information

for the period beginning in July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018 (Fiscal Year 2018).

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OUR MISSION

To transform the lives of children by supporting, empowering, and advocating for the adults who make the biggest impact on children’s lives—their parents, caregivers and teachers.

OUR VISION

All children, nurtured by strong families and vibrant communities, have opportunities for quality early learning experiences that prepare them for success in school and life.

AdvocacyWe commit to lead the charge for increasing access to quality early childhood experiences, achieving outcomes that provide the strongest foundation for all members of our community. We cannot do this alone, and the best advocates are the adults who care for and educate our children: their parents, other caregivers, and early childhood practitioners. We will use our influence directly, and we will work to activate the power of other networks to fuel efforts to address this urgent need.

Collaboration Our kids deserve a community that works together. We can foster and sustain partnerships among child care and early learning providers, and within the wider nonprofit ecosystem and our community as a whole. We know that we are stronger when we partner with others to embrace a shared commitment toward enriching the lives of children, caregivers and families.

AdaptabilityThe needs of the community will change. We must be responsive to these changes, drawing on our considerable collective expertise. To be successful today, and in the future, we must be continuous learners and encourage creativity and new ways of problem-solving.

Respect and CompassionWe believe that achieving results is essential and we believe that the way in which we go about doing so is equally important. We take a strengths-based approach in our interactions, meeting others where they are and understanding together how to move forward. Ours will be a conscious effort to be inclusive of and to support the rich diversity of our community.

OUR CORE VALUES

WHERE WE WORK

78 Jefferson AveColumbus, Ohio 43215Phone: 614-224-0222Fax: 614-244-5437www.actionforchildren.org

Serving Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Pickaway, and Union Counties

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FACTS & FIGURES Financial information for the period beginning in July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018 (Fiscal Year 2018).

86%Grants

1%Other

3%Seminars &Workshops

4%Fee for

Service/Contracts

3%SpecialEvents

3%Contributions

REVENUETOTAL

$3,698,971

39%Parents, Guardians

& Families

46%Early Care

and LearningCommunity

11%Management &

General2%

Fund Raising& Special Events

2%Community

Services

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EXPENSESTOTAL

$3,681,271

NUMBERS SERVED BY PROGRAM AND OUTCOMES

Parenting andFamily Services

SPARK andColumbus Kids (ended June 30, 2018)

1,519in-home visits;

779children referredfor services

Parent Coaching Sessions

1,530served

The Art of PositiveParenting workshops

3,000served

Parents assisted locatingquality child care

3,300served

Early Care andLearning Community

Child and Adult CareFood Program

685,700meals and snacks served to

170programs

Professional development,instruction and assistance

8,600educators served

Child DevelopmentAssociate program

116professionalscompleted the course

Step Up To Quality

543child care programsreceived technical assistanceand coaching as theypursued SUTQ rating

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SPARK: SUPPORTING PARTNERSHIPS TO ASSURE READY KIDS™ (SPARK) is a family-focused intervention program that helps children, ages 3-4 years old, get ready for school by building reading, language and social skills, and seeks to create a seamless transition into school. While 33% of children entering the program were below average in their skills readiness, post screening showed that 85% of children were average or above average.

The Art of Positive Parenting: Parents are a child’s first, constant, and best teachers. Over 20 years ago, AFC developed The Art of Positive Parenting to focus on capacity-building among all parents (and other family caregivers). With TAPP, parents/guardians learn new knowledge and skills that help them create a healthy, mutually respectful family life for children. TAPP provides three- and six-week interactive parenting skills education classes designed to help parents/guardians listen to children’s problems, identify and express feelings, set limits on behavior, resolve conflict effectively, engage children’s cooperation, encourage responsibility, and manage stress.

Father Factor: In this program, fathers gain skills and knowledge that lead to healthy relationships with their children and co-parents. The classes support fathers who meet any of the following criteria: are unengaged or under engaged with their children, are living in poverty, are unemployed or underemployed, have child custody/visitation or support issues and/or involved with the courts, are incarcerated fathers, or are fathers who desire to enhance their parenting skills.

Mothers Matter: In this program, mothers gain skills and knowledge that lead to healthy relationships with their children and co-parents. The program serves mothers who meet one or more of the following criteria: teen mothers, single/divorced/ separated mothers; noncustodial mothers; living in poverty; minority population;

involved with the courts, child welfare, or penal system. These classes are also open to any mother interested in parenting skills enrichment.

Putting the Children First: This program serves parents of minor children who have filed for divorce, dissolution or legal separation in Franklin County (and serves non-Franklin County parents via the online course). Here, parents/guardians learn new knowledge and skills that help them create a healthy, mutually respectful family life for children as they navigate the separation process.

Accessing Quality Child Care through Information & Referral (I&R): Our I&R team helps families in Central Ohio locate the best child care and early education programs for their children by increasing their knowledge of quality indicators, financial assistance, and other resources.. Action for Children maintains a database of more than 1,600 regulated child care and early education programs in Central Ohio, including nonprofit and for�profit child care centers, family child care homes, preschool programs, Head Start programs, and school age programs. Families may use our online geo-search tool to access the database, and email or call for consultation as they conduct this search, available to all free of charge.

PARENTING AND FAMILY SERVICES

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Child and Adult Care Food Program (USDA): More than two-thirds of families have all parents working, and children are in child care on average for more than 35 hours per week. Yet, not all families can assure their children have access to nutritious snacks and meals. Much like the school lunch program, CACFP helps child care providers in Central Ohio receive annual nutrition training and reimbursement for nutritious meals and snacks – nearly 700,000 this year – every day in their child care centers or in their licensed home-based provider setting.

Child Development Associate (CDA): Since our inception, AFC has prioritized supporting the early childhood workforce. One aspect of our training and professional development services is preparing Central Ohio child care teachers to earn a Child Development Associate (CDA)®. The CDA is the national para-professional credential in early childhood education, and is an important means of strengthening and professionalizing the early childhood workforce. In acquiring CDA credential, participants invest significant time and effort to become more skilled in their interactions with children, and thus enhance the overall quality of their program. AFC was one of the first training organizations in Ohio to be recognized as a Gold Standard provider of CDA preparation.

Family Child Care Services: Family Child Care providers are licensed to provide child care in their homes. These providers are often challenged to connect with a professional network as they care and educate groups of up to five children within their homes. Our services help Family Child Care providers in Franklin County become licensed, maintain mandatory training requirements, connect with other providers, improve the quality of their programming and meet state quality-rating requirements.

Step Up To Quality (SUTQ): The availability and quality of child care varies widely. Ohio’s Step Up to Quality (SUTQ) rating system creates a continuous quality improvement path for providers. SUTQ star-rated programs have demonstrated commitment to meet stronger standards for staff, environments and curricula, which have been validated to improve children’s Kindergarten readiness. The State of Ohio has mandated that providers with children enrolled in Ohio’s publically funded child care (PFCC) must become SUTQ star-rated by July 1, 2020. Our Quality Improvement team helps child care and early education programs obtain, maintain, and/or increase SUTQ star ratings through free on-site coaching and technical assistance and other services, with a 92% success rate over the last three years.

EARLY CARE AND LEARNING COMMUNITY

ACTION FOR CHILDREN CREATESA WELCOMING WORKSPACE

2 0 1 8 Wo r k f o r c e I n i t i a t i v e s

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Action for Children was proud to announce its initiative to create a more welcoming and equitable workplace with its 2018 workforce initiative. Effective March 1, 2018, AFC implemented four major initiatives to create a more welcoming workplace for staff, including:

• Living Wage

• Paid Parental Leave

• Continued Pay Equity

• Enhanced Leave Donation Policy

This important plan was announced in conjunction with The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio’s Statehouse Day, a day dedicated to showcasing why issues promoting women’s economic empowerment benefit society. And we were inspired by The Columbus Women's Commission, which issued the Columbus Commitment, a challenge to employers in the Columbus region to make a formal commitment to pay equity. As an agency deeply rooted in the community for 45 years, AFC took these steps to make Columbus smarter, stronger, and fairer, and to make Columbus America’s Opportunity City.

OUR BOARD

PRESIDENT

Andy AldermanCardinal Health; Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Development

PRESIDENT ELECT

Diana WesthoffHuntington National Bank;V.P., Commercial Banking

TREASURER

Darlene DavisOwner, Darlene M. Davis, CPA

PAST PRESIDENT

Holly StokesKey Private Bank; Vice President,Senior Relationship Manager

MEMBERS

Jane Grote Abell

Lynn Blashford

Mary Cusick

Carolyn Cullman Fulwider

Nadia Bukhari Haque

Laura Hult

Rebecca Love, Ph.D.

Ginna Rinkov

Christy Schoedinger

Matt Sharp

David P. Shouvlin

Tamar C. Williamson

Muriel Tice

Emeritus

Eric Karolak

CEO, Action for Children

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SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDING PARTNERS

SMALL STEPS BIG BENEFITS 2017 SPELLING BEE SPONSORS

Donors 7.1.17-6.30.18

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Columbus City Schools

Rinkov Family

BKG

COTA

Darlene Davis

Medical Mutual

NationwideChildren’s Hospital

5th/3rd Bank

Teaching Strategies

Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP

The Women’s Fund

HIVE SPONSORS

BUZZMAKER SPONSORS

BEES KNEES SPONSORS

HOSPITALITY PARTNERS

ACTION FOR CHILDREN DONORS

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Air Force OneAlan and Bobbie WeilerAlice Dee KanonchoffAlice RathburnAllen and Jo-Ellen

WheelerAmanda PrittAmerican Electric Power

FoundationAmy HodgeAmy LarkinAndrew and Sara

AldermanAnita RandolphAnn Farrell HughesAnn and Clark LockettAnna WojcikAnne G. Doody

Charitable Remainder Unit Trust

Anne Powell RileyAnnette and Jeff

CullmanAnthony and Martha

CiriacoAnthony JohnsonApril ContehBarbara BrownBarbara HarrisonBarbara and Mervin

MullerBeatrice I. and Alan R.

Weiler of The Columbus Foundation

Bernhard J. RasmussenBetty MattlinBKG Services, Inc.Blaze Midwest, IncBonnie and Edward

DarrowBooks for BedtimeBrooke SchmelmerBruce and Nancy MeyerCalfee, Halte & Griswold

LLPCardinal Health

FoundationCardinal Health, Inc.Carol GrinerCarol StoccoCarole WatkinsCarolyn Cullman

Fulwider and Michael Fulwider

Central Ohio Transit Authority

Chad LoweChristine and Alex

FreytagChristopher JacksonChristopher Kloth and

Julie HarmonClaire HerbertColleen and Philip

HawksworthCollin DavisColumbus City School

District Board of Education

Connie DennisCraig WoodsCrane GroupCurtis WohlersCynthia HuntDan GoodDan DaneshmandDana and Chris WrightDaniel BennettDaniel K. WorkmanDareth GerlachDarlene DavisDarrell Pierre, Jr.David Egger and Julie

CullmanDavid HouzeDavid SchoolerDavid ShouvlinDavid and Sally GallanisDeborah Manos-

McHenryDeborah WoodlyDelaware County

Community MarketDevon CaldwellDiana Westhoff and

Robert KigerDiane MacDonaldDiane

Bennett-SchoedingerDonald DunnDonatos PizzaDonna CarrDonna WillisDonta' S. Greene Sr.Dorothy DavisDot YeagerDouglas MeierBarbara and Edward

MartinElicia AzaliElizabeth SchneiderEmia OppenheimEmily LylesEric and Melissa KarolakExperience ColumbusFati FuchsFifth Third BankFloradelle PfahlGeorgina GinnGina GroteGinna and Jeff RinkovGreg and Pam

VolpentestaGwendolyn MomanHeather NessHeidi HaydockHeidi RogersHelen JabionkaHighlights for ChildrenHolly HeerHolly and Sean StokesHouleye ThiamHuntington National

BankI. H. Schlezinger

Jan and Tim BetzJan SchwartzJane Grote AbellJanet AldermanJanet BurkeJanet McLaughlinJanice D'AlessandroJarrod PickensJeffrey and Annette

CullmanJennifer BautistaJennifer HarrisJennifer McCallumJennifer WallerJeri GrierJia Ying GuoJill KingsleyJim and Christina GroteJo H. WardJodi and Tom HarrisJohn LasekanJohn CallaghanJohn and Katie JenkinsJohn LewisJohn SprungerJohn WileJohn WinklerJonathan PetuchowskiJonathon GroteJoseph MasonJoseph MatessaJoya BrooksJoyce and Edward

MatthewsJoycelyn TubmanJudith WelchJudith YessoJudy and Gary WilliamsKaren ArbegastKaren MeyerKari HoltzKarla Hancock-GibbsKarlene

Peterkin-YamamotoKaryn ThomasKathleen Lach and Dan

RowanKathleen SnappKelli JonesKent and Gillian JohnsonKevin RussoKeyBank FoundationKim and Eric AndersonKimberley NethingKPMG, LLPKristen JansonKristine BabyakKurt SchmitterLaquetta OdumLasheta McClellanLaura GastLaura HultLaura VolkLawrence James HallLesa Scott

Lesley BurtLeslie and Brett PaxtonLimited BrandsLinda BarrLinda Day-MackessyLinda McLeanLinda Siefkas and Dan

SlowikLisa and Marc WestwaterLoann CraneLori KlingeLoritta BeasleyLorraine WhitakerLou Ann and Williams

GreenleeLucretia TalisonLuetta LouisLynanne Wolf-SabatinoLynn and Glenn

BlashfordLynn ElliottLynnette SmithMarian HarrisMarilyn TormeyMarilyn and Clark

PritchettMark SeifarthMarquise GrangerMarta Vazquez CondeMary Cusick and David

WibleMary DillowMary MueninghoffMary Jessica SheaMary LazarusMary StuckeMattlin FoundationMedical MutualMichael HilerMichael CoreyMichael DeschaineMichael FoxMichael MartinMichael DurnerMichelle WalkerMissy SturgellMonica CoxMoniqua SpencerMuriel and Richard TiceNadia Bukhari HaqueNancy CrooksNationwideNationwide Children's

HospitalNetwork for GoodNicole and Don DeVereNysa StrickerPamela KusmaPatricia CrusePatrick FilipkowskiPatrick ShanahanPaula Jene CarterPeter and Virginia

CullmanPhiet TranPNC

Purdy Bowl, LLC (Ten Pin Alley)

Quest Building ServicesRalonda HamptonRam MandaRebecca CiminilloRebecca LoveRelaRhonda ChildsRhonda and Charles

FraasRick and Ellen CullmanRob PodlogarRobin HarrisRonald KerrSamuel KoonSandi DubinSandy ShullmanSarah LerchSarah MillerSherelle JamesonSheryle and Adrian

PowellSouthside Community

CenterStephanie WardSteven Skovensky and

Jen PattersonSteven WoodSue DoodySusan BrownSusan and Don JakobSusan Lewis KaylorSyed and Saadia BukhariTakatsugu YamakawaTamar WilliamsonTeaching StrategiesTera MadisonTeresa BrownTeresa JohnsonThe Columbus

FoundationThe Siemer InstituteThe Women's Fund of

Central OhioTheodore MunsellThomas BainbridgeTimothy BartolettTimothy WebberTodd BarnhouseUBS Financial Services,

Inc.Venice RamseyVictoria CongroveVictoria WheelerW. Arthur Cullman, Jr.

and Nancy CullmanW. Curtis StittWayne RobinsonWhite Castle System, Inc.Whitney B. StuartYolanda Frieze

78 Jefferson Ave • Columbus, Ohio 43215Phone: 614-224-0222 • Fax: 614-244-5437www.actionforchildren.org